Government will study SC order, implications: Pranab

New Delhi - The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government reacted cautiously to the Supreme Court verdict Thursday canceling 122 telecom licences issued during jailed former communications minister A Raja's tenure and said it will formulate a comprehensive response after studying the order and its implications.

“The government will examine the judgment and its implications,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is government's chief trouble shooter, told reporters.

Rubbishing the Bharatiya Janata Party's renewed demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sack Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was finance minister when 2G spectrum was allocated, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary told NDTV news channel: “We will come out with a comprehensive response after studying the order.”

Defending Chidambaram, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said: “The Opposition will always be after one minister or the other.”

“Day before yesterday, there was a judgement and the opposition reacted even without reading it,” he said. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had slammed the Prime Minister's Office but gave a clean chit to Manmohan Singh over the delay in granting sanction to Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy for prosecuting Raja.

Shukla said: “Kapil Sibal is telecom minister...he will go into the details of the judgment... and will do whatever is suitable.”

Stating that the “opposition's attempt to corner the government does not matter as the case is already in court and the court will decide”, Shukla added: “As far as the opposition is concerned, they comment on everything without understanding (the issue).”

In cancelling the 122 licences, the apex court gave the telecom regulator four months to look into the matter and make recommendations for an auction.